Recently, there is developed an apparatus of composite functions, constructed as a peripheral device to be used by connection to a host apparatus such as a personal computer (hereinafter represented as a PC). For example, in case of printers, an interface such as USB (universal serial bus) is provided for connection to a PC as a print output device. Also, among such printers, some have a memory card reader whereby an image in the memory card, taken, for example, by a digital camera, can be directly printed by the printer without relying on a PC.
In such printer equipped with a memory card reader, there is known a construction, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-96868, that the memory card can be recognized by a PC through an interface such as USB, thereby providing also a function as a PC card reader.
Such a PC peripheral device having plural functions can function, by causing a PC to recognize such plural functions, as if plural devices were connected to the PC when observed from the PC side.
In order that the PC can recognize such plural functions as separate devices, there is required, in addition to the interface control at the peripheral device side, to install drivers in the operating system (OS) of the PC. The latest OS already has drivers for ordinary devices such as a keyboard and a mouse. This applies also to devices of a class called storage class in the USB standard, such as a memory card reader described above and a hard disc. Therefore, in the devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a memory card reader or a hard disc of storage class, the driver is automatically loaded by merely connecting the device through USB, whereby the content of the memory card or the hard disc can be accessed immediately.